1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus and method for correcting color balance in an image sensing apparatus such as a digital still camera.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to obtain an image having appropriate color in a color image sensing device, there are occasions where a correction is applied uniformly for each and every color. For example, see the specification of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-9273.
Often a solid-state electronic image sensing element such as a CCD is used as the image sensing element in a color image sensing device. In a solid-state electronic image sensing element of this kind, an incident light vs. output signal characteristic has linearity and the element outputs a signal that conforms to the level of the incident light. If the level of the incident light is low, however, the incident light vs. output signal characteristic may not necessarily be linear. This means that there are instances where a proper color balance adjustment cannot be performed even if a correction is applied uniformly color by color.